Second, Third, Fourth Chances?
by Verionica Joan
Summary: Rory and Jess see each other at Luke and Lorelai's wedding for the first time since the open house. Just a little fantasy of mine.
1. Chapter 1

I don't own Gilmore Girls. Sadly, as hard as I may try, it's too expensive.

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"So today's the big day?" Lane asked me while we drank coffees at Weston's on the morning of my mom and Luke's wedding. As happy as I was for the two of them, I was still finding it hard to grasp that they were getting married. It had been a little over a year since they had gotten back together after their original engagement and, to be ironic or funny, they had planned their wedding on June 3rd again but this time they were actually going through with it.

"Yep. Today's the big day." I said, taking another sip of my coffee. After putting my cup back on the table I sighed and absently stared out the window.

"What's wrong?" Lane asked. She was so observant, I knew there was no point in saying nothing.

"I just...I can't help thinking that this could've been my wedding day. To Logan." I knew I sounded completely pathetic. I didn't even love Logan anymore. My thoughts were confirmed by the almost annoyed look Lane gave me.

"Rory, it's been a year. Haven't you gotten over him yet?"

"Yes. I have. It was just a thought. Its almost 11. I should go find my mom so we can get ready." I said as I checked my watch.

"Okay. I'll see you at three." Lane said while we stood up and walked out of Weston's.

"Right. See you!" I said as she walked one direction and I went the opposite.

While I walked home I thought about my mom's history with men. Lorelai had gotten engaged then unengaged to Max Madena, my high school teacher then she had dated Alex and Jason. She and Luke got engaged and then broke up. She had married my dad, divorced him and now was getting married to Luke. All in about 7 years. My God my mom lives a complicated life.

By the time I finished trying to remember all the complications of her life, I had reached my house where Suki had told me to be by 11 so we could all get ready together.

"Mom! Suki! I'm here!" I yelled over the music blaring from the stereo in the living room.

"We're in the kitchen!" Suki yelled. I walked through the entryway into the kitchen and took in all the makeup and hair accessories spread out on the counters and table. Lorelai already had her dress on and the vail was draped over the back of one of the chairs. Since she hadn't returned the "perfect dress" the year before, she had decided to wear it today since she loved it so much even though she had shown it to Luke last year.

"Woah. It looks like Sephora exploded." I said. Since I was in the kitchen, a little farther from the stereo, I could talk at a normal volume.

"Well we didn't know what we were going to need so we just got basically everything."Mom said as Suki dabbed some blush on her cheek.

"Sounds good to me."Suki was already dressed and had her makeup on so she happily did me and my mom while we talked and laughed.

Three hours later, about 10 minutes before the beginning of the ceremony, all the women in the procession were lined up, ready to walk down the aisle. Gigi, the flower girl, was in the front standing next to Michele who was directing things 'backstage'. I was behind her as the maid of honor and Suki was behind me as a maid of honor. Last in line was Lorelai who looked absolutely beautiful and was glowing with happiness. I looked back and smiled at her. She smiled back and then looked past me into the church. Her expression suddenly changed from pure happiness to distress. Oh God, she can't possibly be getting cold feet now, can she?

"Oh my God Rory! I forgot to tell you something seriously major!"She said running out of her place in line to stand next to me.

"What could possibly be that important right now, less than 10 minutes before your wedding?"I tried not to sound too annoyed but Lorelai did have a habit of doing things at the absolute worst moments and I had a feeling that now was about to be one of those moments.

"Ok, I really meant to tell you this earlier but...Luke's best man is Jess. Who is here. Now. Obviously." She gave me a pitying look as I sucked in a huge breath. Oh God. Jess. "You okay hun?"I put on my best brave face and tried to keep my voice even.

"Yeah. I'm okay. Now get back in line. Their starting the music."Okay, I thought, all I have to do is keep my cool until the end of the ceremony. Just avoid his eyes and don't think about him.

The traditional wedding music blared and Michele gestured for Gigi to begin walking down the aisle. She had a white basket hanging over her left arm and used her right hand to scatter rose petals on the carpet as she walked. When she reached the altar, she turned to the right and sat down on Lorelai's side of the church in her reserved seat in the front row, right next to Christopher and his fiancee'.

Michele touched my elbow, a signal for me to start walking. I entered the church and felt my cheeks redden slightly because of all the people looking at me. Please don't trip! All of our friends filled the seats. Gypsy, Kirk, Lulu, Babette, Miss Patty. Even Taylor had showed up. Everybody Lorelai, Luke and I cared about had gathered to see them get married. I guess I should have realized Jess would be here. Hadn't I ever asked who the best man would be? I guess not. I made the mistake of looking away from the faces to the left and right of me and looked at the altar. Luke was looking pretty handsome in the tux that Lorelai had picked out for him. He also looked completely freaked out. I laughed in my head. That's so typical Luke. Then I shifted my head slightly and accidently caught Jess's eye. My breath caught and I felt like I couldn't move for the smallst moment. He looked amazing. More than amazing. He was...perfect.

Of course, being Jess, he looked absolutely gorgeous in a tux and he had his hair, which was less unruly these days, brushed neatly and hanging in his face just the tiniest bit. The corners of his lips turned up in the smallest of smiles when he caught my eye. I wanted to keep looking at him but I knew if I didn't look were I was going, I would fall and make a fool of myself. I climbed the three steps to the raised altar and turned around to face the audience. Suki had been about 10 feet behind me and reached the altar soon after I did.

A few seconds later, Lorelai appeared in the doorway to the church and murmurs of admiration sounded throughout the crowd. She grinned as she walked down the aisle, winking at me and then never looking away from Luke until they had said their vows and were walking back down the aisle as a married couple.

Everyone gathered outside the church to wave the happy couple off in there stretch limo which looked extremely out of place in tiny Stars Hollow. The crowd of people cheered as Luke and Lorelai hopped into their limo and drove off to God knows where. They wouldn't tell anybody where they were going after the ceremony, not even me. I looked to my left and saw dad holding his fiancee's hand and carrying Gigi on his shoulders. They would make a good family. She looked better for him than Sherri did.

"Rory!"Gigi screamed when she saw me from her perch. I grinned and waved at her. Chris let her down and she ran over to me. She threw her arms around my waist and I laughed and hugged her back. The crowd around us was loud and everybody was having their own private conversations now.

"You were perfect today Gigi!" I said encouragingly.

"Are you happy your mom got married?" she asked me as innocently as only a child that young could be.

I smiled down at her. "Yes. I am very happy." I said completely sincerely. "Are you happy that you dad is getting married?" I asked her.

"Yeah! I love Marianne. She makes the best grilled cheese in the world!"she said excitedly. I laughed and looked up to see Jess standing about four feet away from us.

"Hey." I said to him, trying to stay cool and collected.

"Hey. Who's this?"he asked me, smiling at Gigi.

"This is my half-sister, Gigi. Gigi, this is my friend Jess. He's Luke's nephew. You know Luke from the diner."

"Nice to meet you Gigi." Jess said, crouching to shake her hand. "You know, I think that they're giving out bubbles to anyone under 10 by the door."

"Cool! Can I go Rory?" she jumped up and down, ready to go get something to play with.

"Yeah, go ahead." Gigi ran off and Jess and I stood there awkwardly, trying to think of something to say.

"So...you have a half sister? That's new."Jess finally thought of something to say and I praised the gods that at least one of us had some sense.

"Oh yeah...relatively new. She's great. Me and mom love her."

"Yeah, she seems nice."

More silence. Grrrreat.

"This is a little awkward." I said quietly, desperate for anything to say.

"It is but...things seem good. Are they good?"

"Yeah, things are good."

"And Logan?"

"Gone."

He nodded and seemed to contemplate something. "What happened?"

I took a deep breath. "He proposed."

Jess seemed to be at a loss for words. It was actually really cute. "Uh...wow. That's big."

"Yes, it was but obviously I said no."

"Obviously." He did that cute little Jess shrug and I silently cursed myself for still finding him unbelievably attractive.

"We should catch up. I haven't talked to you for over a year."

He smiled adorably. "Yeah that'd be good. Tonight?"

"Actually, I have a meeting tonight but how about tomorrow night?" I asked hopefully. As pathetic as it was, I really did want to see him tomorrow. There's some things the two of us need to talk out in private, without distractions.

"A meeting huh? Look at you miss corporate. Yeah tomorrow night's cool."

I grinned hugely and wrote my address on a slip of paper for him. "That's not too far to drive is it? Because if it is, we can meet half way or something."

"No, it's not too far. New York, huh? Got a job at the times?"

"Not the Times. The Journal. I'm working on getting into the Times."

"Ok...so I guess I'll see you tomorrow. Seven okay?"

"Yeah see you tomorrow."

Jess patted my arm and walked away towards the diner. I guess he was staying with Luke. I took a deep breath and prepared to do some serious socializing before heading home and seriously stressing over tomorrow night. At least I'll have Rosalie to help me.

(((A/N: Rosalie is one of the Life and Death Brigade girls in case you don't remember. I'll work on the second chapter but school just started so it might be a little bit before its done.)))


	2. Chapter 2

I do not own Gilmore Girls. Do you honestly think it would have been taken off air if I did?

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"So you never actually told me who this guy is, Rory. I mean, I know his name is Jess but how do you know him?" Rosemary was following me all around our apartment while I searched for the shirt I wanted to wear tonight. It was about 6:30 so I had around half an hour until Jess came and I was freaking out.

"He's my ex-boyfriend. The last time I saw him we kissed and then I told him that I was still with Logan, who he hates."

"Wow. That's harsh Ror."

"Yes, I know."

I turned around and gave her a you're-not-helping look and continued searching through my drawers. Logan was pretty much dead to all of us except Colin and Finn who still kept in touch with him and visited him occasionally. It was always them going to see him in California though, never the other way around. Logan didn't want to risk running into me.

"Found it!" I said as I victoriously held up the light blue blouse that made my eyes look 50 times brighter blue than usual. I already had my jeans on so I just put my shirt on and buttoned it, relieved to finally be wearing a complete outfit. I had already done my makeup and made sure my hair was dried perfectly, bangs straight and waves in all the right spots. I looked in the mirror and decided I was finally satisfied with my appearance. There was a loud knock on the door and I inhaled sharply.

"That can't possibly be him can it?" I asked Rosemary, not ready to face him yet.

"No. It's Finn. We have a date tonight." she said, walking across the very small apartment to the door which she opened to reveal Finn who was leaning cockily against the doorframe.

"Hello, love. How are you doing tonight?" he asked her.

Before Rosemary had time to answer I crossed into full panic mode. "I thought you were going to be here! I can't be here alone with him! That's just way to weird!" I practically shouted.

Finn looked at me with honest concern. "What's wrong love?" he directed the question to me but I just looked at Rosemary to answer and ran to the bathroom to check my makeup again.

"Her ex-boyfriend is coming and she's a little nervous."

"Well you look absolutely stunning Rory. He won't be able to resist you. Ready to go Rose?" he asked, holding out his arm for her to hold.

"Yeah. You'll be okay Rory. He obviously still likes you if he's driving out here to see you."

It wasn't until the door clicked shut and the two of them had left that I answered her consolation.

"I know that's what I'm worried about." I muttered to myself. After making sure I looked okay for the millionth time and setting out all the good nonromantic movies I had, there was another knock on the door. I took a few deep breaths and pulled it open.

"Hey Jess!" I said as normally as I could.

"Hey." he said simply as I shifted so he could come in. He walked around the small apartment, looking around to see what my home looked like I guess. He did that distinctive Jess walk that hadn't changed in the entire time I'd known him, with his hands folded behind his back.

"Two beds? Got a roomie?" he asked, cracking his signature smile on the last word to show that he was joking.

"Yeah. Rosemary. She's great." I said and he nodded.

"Where's she tonight?" I could tell he was just trying to make conversation. I guess it was as awkward for him as it was for me.

"She's out with her boyfriend, FInn." I still couldn't believe that she was dating Finn and I guess it showed on my face because Jess laughed.

"What's wrong with Finn?" he asked, smiling.

"Nothing's _wrong_ with him. I love Finn, he's just a little...outlandish, I guess is a good word."

"Trust me, I know that type."

"I would imagine you do."

Jess and I awkwardly sat on the couch together.

"So...do you want to watch a movie?"

"Yes, sure. What movie?" he looked completely relieved that I had thought of something to do.

"Is Almost Famous still your favorite? I rented it because I remembered you liked it."

"Yeah, okay."

"Great."

I stood up and grabbed the movie off of the counter in the kitchenette. I could feel his eyes on me as I rifled through the unorganized cabinets, looking for a snack. I found a stray bag of popcorn and put it in the microwave for 3 minutes and 30 seconds, like the bag says to. After putting the DVD into the player and turning the TV on, I plopped down onto the couch next to Jess and got comfortable.

"Alright, I gave you the scoop on me and Logan, so what about you? Any girls since I've seen you last?" I'm not exactly sure what possessed me to ask him that, it was just something to say.

He looked at me and smiled, "There were a few but none of them stuck for very long. They just...weren't right."

"I see. I guess that's how it was with Logan too. Even though we were together so long, I knew that there was something missing." I wanted to finish the sentence but I could only complete it in my head: _something missing that I haven't felt since I was with you._ I couldn't imagine what would've happened if I had said that. Jess probably would have run away from me screaming. Maybe not screaming, but he would have left...quickly.

"I um...I really missed you. Rory?" I looked over at Jess and saw that he was looking down to avoid my eyes.

"Yeah?"

"When we kissed, in Philadelphia I mean, did you really do that just to make Logan jealous, or was there something else there too?" he looked up, met my eyes and didn't look away. Neither did I. I felt like if I did, I would be offending him.

"There...there was something else there." I whispered. Neither of us had looked away yet and it felt like there was almost an electricity that pulled our lips towards each other's. Just when I thought we were going to kiss, the timer on the microwave went off and we both pulled away from each other instantaneously.

I jumped off the couch and crossed the room to get the popcorn out of the microwave. Jess shifted on the couch and put his head in his hands. He sighed and I could tell he was trying to snap himself out of his mind set and focus on reality. Pulling a bowl out of the cabinet and ripping open the hot bag, I dumped the popcorn into a bowl and walked back over to the couch. We sat in silence and had the movie on in the background, though neither of us was really concentrating on it. My mind was preoccupied with trying to figure out exactly what had happened a before the timer went off and I wasn't sure exactly what Jess was thinking but I could tell he wasn't watching the movie either. Not that he needed to, he'd seen it so many times he could probably act the entire thing out himself.

We watched the movie without talking again and barley moved at all. I was too nervous to do anything. I didn't even know if I wanted to kiss him or not! Once the credits came on, I finally convinced myself to turn and look at him. He was looking at me too. I got up off the couch and turned the TV off, turning back around I saw that Jess had stood up too and was pacing back and forth in between the couch and the coffee table, looking very agitated.

"This is pathetic, Rory." he finally said. His voice pierced the silence and I had almost forgotten that either of us even had the ability to talk at all.

"What's pathetic?" I had to clear my throat before speaking since we hadn't talked for over an hour and a half.

"We're adults now. Things like this shouldn't be this weird. If we do like each other, we should be able to admit that. We're not in high school anymore." He stopped talking, realizing what he was saying. "You know what, screw this." Jess abruptly walked up to me and crushed my lips with a bruising kiss. Against my better judgement, I did nothing to stop him at first. Then, once I actually put some effort into creating a thought process, I pulled away from him.

"No. I am not doing this again." I said, turning away from him.

"Doing what?" Jess sounded confused, and could I really blame him? It must seem like I was leading him on.

"Liking you or whatever this is. Every time this happens it starts out great then you leave or I leave and one or both of us ends up hurt."

"It doesn't have to be like that this time. We're older now, we can handle things better."

"No, Jess. I can't. I'm sorry." He looked at me with one of the most pained expressions that I've ever seen on anyone. It hurt to look at so I looked down. I heard him move and I looked back up again to see the door click shut behind him.


	3. Chapter 3

I don't own any of these characters. Oh well, life goes on.

**(((A/N: Sorry it took me so long to get this up!!! School just started so its been really hectic lately! Hopefully, the next chapter won't take as long as this one did. Enjoy!)))**

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Chapter 3

I woke to the sound of Finn and Rose laughing as they walked in the door.

"Rory?" Rosemary said when she saw me laying on the couch. "You okay."

I half nodded, half shook my head, not really sure how to answer.

"I'll just see you tomorrow, okay?" Rose said, addressing FInn.

Finn looked at me, concerned. "'NIght, love" he said and gave Rose a quick kiss before walking out the door after one more glance at me.

"Rory what happened?" Rose pulled me up so that I was sitting next to her with my head on her shoulder.

"I let him go. He kissed me and I made him go." I sobbed. Rose rubbed her hand soothingly up and down my arm. I sniffled and was glad that she hadn't stayed at Finn's that night.

"Its not too late. You can go back to Stars Hollow and fix it. You don't think he left yet do you?"

"I don't know but it doesn't matter. He hates me now. I really messed this one up Rose."

"You can fix it. Come on, lets get you to bed. We can figure this out in the morning."

Rose pulled me off the couch and laid me down in my bed. She pulled the covers up to my chin and quietly walked out of the room leaving me in the dark to wonder if she was right and I really could fix this.

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I opened my heavy lidded eyes and the first thing I saw was the clock which read 10:56. Great, I slept late. Pulling myself out of bed, I walked wearily into the mini-kitchen and saw that Rose had left but had toasted a bagel and put butter on it for me so all I had to do was put it in the microwave for a few seconds.

After robotically reheating and eating my food, I got in the shower and absentmindedly washed my hair. I stepped out and went through the process of picking out an outfit which I quickly got sick of and ended up just pulling on jeans and a black tank top. I dried my hair and bangs, clipping my hair behind my head in a messy bun and letting my bangs fall randomly across my forehead. Once all of this was finished, I stretched out on the couch and tried to read but I couldn't stop thinking of Jess's face after I told him I couldn't be with him. In fact, all of the times I had disappointed him flashed through my head like a slide show and I couldn't take it anymore. I dropped my book and ran out the door, grabbing my keys on the way. I hopped in my car and began the drive to Stars Hollow.

I wasn't really sure how much time had passed but as I pulled up in front of Luke's I suddenly regretted coming and even thought about turning around and driving back home. I knew if I did that though, I wouldn't be able to just sit there and think about him without going insane.

About 5 minutes later, I walked through the door of Luke's and the familiar bell chimed. Jess was behind the counter, filling in for Luke while he was on the honeymoon I guess. His head snapped up and he seemed to go through several emotions in a matter of seconds before settling on a confused expression.

"Rory? What are you-"

"How do you always do this to me? I try to ignore you but that doesn't work and then when I decide to just go with it, I end up getting crushed!" Jess looked at me, alarmed at the fact that I had just yelled at him in front of a diner full of people, at least half of which have known me almost my entire life.

"Caesar! I'm going on break!" Jess shouted to Caesar who acknowledged him with a quick okay. Jess placed his hands on my shoulders and pushed me backwards up the stairs. We crashed into the wall at the top and he held me against it, his hands tracing my shape from my shoulders to my waist where they finally rested.

"Well?" I asked impatiently. I didn't bother trying to escape his hold. It wouldn't do any good.

"Well what?"

"Are you going to answer me?"

He seemed to take this into consideration for a moment before pressing his lips to mine in a heavy, bruising kiss like he had last night. This time, though, I couldn't pull back since I was pushed up hard against the wall and I couldn't help wondering if he had planned that. I resisted at first, stubbornly refusing to kiss him back even though his lips were still moving against mine. Gradually, though, I was sucked into the familiar way his mouth curved around mine and I found my lips responding eagerly to his.

As the kiss deepened more and more, he took hold of my leg and hitched it around his waist. Doing the same to my other leg, he carried me into Luke's apartment and carefully laid me on the bed. Breaking contact to do this, I sat up before he could start kissing me again.

"Hold on a second, Jess." I stood up and something about my clothes felt funny. I realized that he had somehow managed to unhook my bra and I felt my face turn deep red as I reached around my back and fixed it. He sighed audibly when he figured out that I was about to scold him.

"Look Rory, I'm sorry. I know I shouldn't have done that. You're just...you're so cute when you're angry." I lost my train of thought for a moment and then shook my self back into reality.

"Jess..." I sighed, irritated at my inability to get what I wanted to say out. "You need to understand. I _want_ this to work. I still lo...like you. A lot." I could tell he hadn't missed the fact that I'd almost said I loved him and not just loved him but _still_ loved him. Great. Nonetheless, I continued my little speech while pacing in front of him. He sat obediently on the bed, listening intently. "But I don't think I can take having my heart broken again. If we're going to do this I need your promise that you won't just take off again."

He looked at me for a few moments, dark brown eyes burning into my bright blue ones. "I promise. I won't ever leave you again, Rory. I'm different now, really." He stood up and walked over to me, encircling my waist in his strong arms. He pressed his lips to mine softly and I almost felt like I was back in high school again except we didn't have to worry about Luke or Lorelai bursting into the apartment.

Jess pulled away slowly and took my hand. "Come on, we can finish this later." He said with a mischievous smile. "We can only leave Caesar down there alone for so long before things get crazy."

Blissfully, I let him pull me through the small hallway and into the diner, still hand in hand and I could everyone's eyes on the two of us. In the back of my mind I knew I should be more concerned about the fact that Jess and I would be the subject of all the gossip as we had been almost six years ago but I didn't think about that. The only thing I could think about was that I had Jess back and I he _was _different now. Things would be better, I could feel it in the way he held my hand.


	4. Chapter 4

Don't own GG. **tear tear**

**(((A/N: I just realized that I wrote this chapter in third person instead of my usual first! Sorry!)))**

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One week.

That was all the time Jess and Rory would have to simply enjoy their renewed relationship before Luke and Lorelai would come home and things would return to being complicated.

Rory had gone back to her apartment to pack a suitcase and tell Rose where she would be then she had returned to Luke's and basically hadn't left since. Jess and Rory spent the majority of their day in Luke's apartment and they decided that it would probably be easier for Rory if she just stayed there for the week.

Of course, the entire town knew they were up there all day and they could only imagine what went on but most of them could fill in the blanks. Nobody bothered them except for when Caesar needed help or the one time Lane had called to inform Rory that the entire town was talking like it was 2003 and the two of them were still in high school.

"Jess?" Rory called one morning when she woke up. Light was streaming in the window and the clock said 9:28. Jess would have been up for about two hours now. That was one of the first things Rory learned about him, he's a really early riser but not the kind that wakes other people up accidentally. No, he let her sleep in as late as she wanted and was always there with coffee when she woke up.

"One second!" He yelled from the bathroom. Rory smiled at how dependable he was lately, always there when she woke up.

Rory pushed herself out of bed and picked up one of Jess's t-shirts that fell about mid-thigh on her. She loved wearing his shirts, it always made her feel like he was holding her.

After taking a second to breathe in the scent of Jess on his shirt, Rory made her way over to the coffee pot where, sure enough there was already a pot made for her. She took a mug out of the cabinet and poured a cup for herself, taking a long sip.

"Morning." Jess whispered in her ear as he came up behind her and kissed her neck irresistibly. Rory shuddered, still not entirely used to the shocks of pleasure Jess created in her.

"Good morning!" she said brightly, spinning around and wrapping her arms around Jess's neck. He enveloped her in a deep kiss and after a minute, began pushing her shirt up. "Hey, hey." Rory said teasingly. "Little early for that, don't you think?" She smiled and gave him one more quick kiss before taking her coffee back to the bed.

As she set the coffee down though, a wave of anxiety hit her and she spun around again. "Jess, what day is it?"

Jess looked at her, confused for a second then a look of realization dominated his face. "Saturday. Shit." he said, already throwing dishes from the sink to the dish washer.

"I can't believe we forgot they're coming home today!" Rory ran to the bathroom and turned the shower on. "I mean, look at this place!"

Rory knew she would have to rush the shower and that she and Jess would have to clean on double time. There were clothes scattered _everywhere,_ Jess's and Rory's plus they hadn't done the dishes or made the bed all week.

"You get a shower I'll start cleaning." Jess said as waving Rory into the bathroom.

About 2 hours later, the place was at least presentable but Rory was still on edge about telling Lorelai about her and Jess. They had decided that Rory would go back to Lorelai's and Jess would stay at Luke's so they could do it separately. Rory sat on the couch in her mother's house bouncing up and down and checking the time every five minutes. She just hoped to God that her mom came straight home and didn't walk through town first. If she found out form Babette and Patty it wouldn't be pretty.

Finally, Rory heard the door click and Lorelai laugh. As Rory made her way into the entryway, she found Luke and her mom kissing a tad more seriously than she would care to see.

"Um....Mom?" Rory said uncertainly. Lorelai pulled away from Luke instantaneously.

"Honey! Oh, sorry about that." Her mom ran up to her and wrapped her in a vice-tight hug. "You okay, sweetie? You seem a little tense."

Rory silently cursed her moms ability to read every emotion she had while still trying to keep a happy front for Luke. "Yeah, I'm fine, I just need to talk to you about something." This elicited a concerned look from Lorelai who turned to Luke and gave him a small kiss.

"I'll meet you at the diner later, okay?" She said, taking her bags from him.

"Okay. See you later." Luke left the house and Lorelai and Rory listened to his truck pull out.

"So...you need to tell me something?" Lorelai asked slowly, giving her daughter a worried look.

Rory fidgeted and played with the hem of her shirt, trying to guess what kind of reaction Lorelai would have. "Yeah. Let's sit down first."

"Sure, okay."

The two of them walked into the kitchen and sat at the small table, not looking at each other.

"Okay you really need to tell me what's going on because I'm getting a little freaked out!" Lorelai exclaimed after a few minutes of silence.

"Sorry. Okay here it goes. Jess and I are...together. Again." Rory looked at her mom uncertainly, worried she would be mad that Rory was going back to Jess again. "Mom?"

Lorelai looked at her, stunned into silence. Well as silent as any Gilmore can be. "You...and Jess? Wow, when did this happen? _How _did this happen? And why aren't you in New York? Oh my God you've been here all week, haven't you? Are you sleeping with him?"

"Mom!" Rory felt her face turning red as she tried to think of a way to explain everything. "He came to see me in New York the night after the wedding. He kissed me and I freaked and sent him home. I felt really bad so I came here to see him the next day and we...you know. So I just stayed with him in Luke's apartment all week. Mom? You okay?"

"Yeah. I'm just surprised. I mean…did you really think about this? You're sure you trust him?" Rory flinched at the question. She knew it would come but she didn't know if she really believed her own answer.

"Of course I trust him. We talked, he's different now. More responsible."

"And good in bed, I hope." Lorelai said to brighten the mood, causing Rory's face to turn a deeper shade of red than it already was.

"Mom!"

"What? I'm just saying, maybe it runs in the family." She smirked at Rory who stood up and ran into her old room.

"You're disgusting!" She shouted to her mom, pretending to be mad. In reality though, she was grinning ear to ear, deliriously happy that her mom approved of her and Jess getting back together.

Maybe it really would work out this time. Maybe.


	5. Chapter 5

I don't own Gilmore Girls or pretty much anything else since I'm a minor :-)

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Jess sighed heavily when he heard the door to Luke's apartment open. Unlike Rory, he wasn't nervous about telling Luke and Lorelai so much as he just really didn't feel like dealing with Luke's reaction.

"Hey. I thought you were leaving before I got back." Luke said when he saw Jess sitting at the kitchen table, book in hand.

"Just thought I'd stay a little longer." Jess said, eyeing Luke as he set his bags down on the bed and suddenly froze. Great, what now?

Luke turned around and looked at Jess angrily. "Are those Rory's clothes?"

Oh, that's what.

"Um...yeah."

Luke walked over to where Jess was sitting and looked at him menacingly."Would you mind telling me why Rory's clothes are here?"

"Well, actually I would." Jess didn't really know why he was being evasive. Obviously he would have to tell Luke sooner or later. Old habits die hard, he guessed.

" Jess-"

"Alright, alright." Jess cut him off before he could launch into an hour long lecture about how he'll never change even though he obviously had. If coming back to Star's Hollow for Luke wasn't a sure sign of that, nothing was. "Rory and I are together again. There I said it now please don't kill me because I think your new wife and step-daughter would be a little upset about that."

Luke sighed and looked down at his shoes. Jess studied his moves, trying to decide whether he had to further defend himself or not. Surprisingly, Luke pulled out one of the chairs and sat down with him.

"You do realize that you're too old to just take off now. You have to be serious about this, Jess."

"I know. Do you realize that I've been waiting for this for almost six years? I'm not running away now and everybody in this freakish little town has to realize that."

Luke nodded and pointed to Rory's stuff. "Fine. Go give her bag back to her. And Jess?" Jess turned around as he was about to leave the apartment with Rory's things. "If you hurt her again, you're not coming back."

Jess just nodded and left, silently thanking every single God that anyone ever believed in that Luke hadn't decided to kill him.

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About 20 minutes later, Jess knocked on Rory's window and waited for her to come let him in.

"You know we're not in high school anymore, you can just come to the front door." Rory said as she pushed the window open and her astonishingly adorable boyfriend climbed in.

"Yeah but its more fun this way." He said, pulling her into a long kiss. "Brought your stuff."

Rory's smiled a little, imagining the expression on Luke's face when he saw her bag there. "Oops."

"You did that on purpose, didn't you?"

"Maybe."

He looked at her, trying to figure out her reasons. "Why, didn't think I would come back?"

"No. Didn't think you'd have the guts to tell Luke."

"Alright I'm gonna have to get you back for that one!" Jess said smiling hugely at her in a way Jess very rarely ever did. In one quick move, he had Rory pinned down on the bed giggling hysterically as Jess tickled her.

"Jess stop!" she squealed, uselessly flailing under his strong arms.

"Alright, alright." He kissed the tip of her nose and rolled over next to her. He gave Rory a minute to catch her breath before speaking again. "So how'd it go with Lorelai?" He looked over at her nervously but when he met Rory's eyes he saw that she had a very positive expression.

"Very well, actually. She was surprised but seemed to be okay with it. After a minute she started making dirty comments so, as far as I can tell, all is right in the strange world of Lorelai. What about with Luke?" Now it was Rory's turn to be nervous. Even before Luke and Lorelai were married, Luke had always been a father figure to Rory and had never really supported her and Jess's relationship. She always thought it was ironic that he didn't think his own nephew was good enough for her.

"Okay. No direct death threats."

"Well that's an improvement. My mom must be bringing out his good side."

Jess laughed a little. "If that was his good side then I _really_ don't want to piss him off."

"Yeah, well, I'm just glad everyone's good with this." Rory said quietly, wrapping her arms around Jess's torso.

A couple seconds later, there was a knock on her door and it was pushed open a few inches.

"Not interrupting anything, am I?" Lorelai asked hesitantly.

Rory and Jess pushed themselves into a sitting position. "No we're good. Everything okay?" Rory said after her mom opened the door the rest of the way.

"Yeah. Luke and I were wondering if you guys were coming to the diner for dinner."

Jess and Rory looked at each other for a second and Jess shrugged at her. "Sure, why not." he said. "We'll come over a little later."

Lorelai smiled. "Okay, see you guys later!"

Rory sighed after her mom left.

"What's wrong?" Jess asked.

"Looks like we have to face the outside world now."

"Oh. Great."

"Yep."

**(((A/N: Sorry! I know this is a pretty boring chapter. I'll try to make the next one more interesting but it might be a couple days before I update again.)))**


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